Fall Bucket List

Fall is in full swing here in Jersey/NYC and this California girl is not ready at all. The seasons changed so swiftly here. One day it felt like summer, the next I was needing a sweater and boots! Having grown up in Southern California, I'm not accustomed to true seasons, and the change between them is typically slow and subtle. Suffice to say, the sudden cold snap caught me off guard. I am not yet enjoying the frosty morning and evening walks with the dogs where we are all shivering, and yet as cold as it feels to me right now, I know that it's going to get a lot colder—and I also know that I don't really know what I'm in for!

Nevertheless, I'm not ready to hibernate for the winter and I've heard New York is really beautiful in the fall. So in addition to getting a new pair of boots (I'd love these classics) and a warmer, East Coast-appropriate coat (this one with a fur-trimmed hood caught my eye), here's a list of activities I'd like to accomplish this autumn season:

Go apple picking. I've never been and now we're living in a region where it is possible! We're just an hour-long drive from Wilkens Farm and Masker Orchards.

Indulge in fall flavors. Give acorn squash another try with this apple, cranberry and sausage stuffed recipe that should make the hubby happy. Bake the apple tart I wanted to make last fall. Put an autumnal spin on one of our favorite dinners with butternut squash risotto. And on an especially chilly evening, whip up a batch of mulled apple cider, spiked for extra warmth.

Experience Broadway and the ballet. I don't have a specific Broadway show in mind (recommendations welcome!) but I would love to see the New York City Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

Wine tasting in the North Fork of Long Island. One of G and I's favorite weekend pastimes in San Diego was wine tasting in Temecula, so I'd love to explore a few East Coast wineries. Apparently, Long Island Wine Country is the place to go (in particular, Shinn Estate, Bedell Cellars and Croteaux Vineyards) and it turns out that merlot, the hubby's favorite varietal, is the signature grape of the region. (For a closer-to-home wine tasting option, we could also check out Brooklyn Winery and Red Hook Winery.)

Bundle up and go ice skating. NYC has many rinks to choose from, and while I'd love to spin around the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, the long lines may lead us to the Winter Village at Bryant Park (bonus: shops!) or Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

Attend the Christmas Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center. Or, at the very least, visit and snap lots of photos while the famous giant tree is on view this holiday season. 

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There are a few things we didn't get to on our summer bucket list that we could still aim to do now, including visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park (and the bridge itself) and checking out the Brooklyn Flea's indoor winter market. There is so much to see and do in NYC and we might not be able to do it all, but we are going to have fun trying! What's on your fall bucket list? 

(New York Autumn Art Print 

by Rifle Paper Co.)

A Golden Birthday : Cheers for my 30th at Malibu Wines

Despite my best intentions to get back into blogging last week after my six-week long California vacation trip adventure, I was simply too busy or tired to do so. Busy because just three days after my best friend's wedding it was my 30th birthday, and then of course the packing (oh, the packing!) for our return to Florida. And tired because of, well, all that—plus it was tougher than I imagined to get back on East Coast time. The first three days we were home the hubs and I slept in until almost noon! I'm not exactly what you'd call an early riser but G is, so that was quite unusual for him.

But today is Monday, a fresh start to a new week and just a few days into a new month and I'm feeling recovered. (Even if our bags have yet to be unpacked. Oy vey.) As much as we loved visiting our friends and family in Simi Valley and San Diego, after so much time away it felt good to walk into our own place, our small, humble apartment home, and relax. While puppy Jasper came along with me on my adventure, our big girl Cali was over the moon to see us when we picked her up from the house of some truly great friends who had watched her for three weeks (!).

Since I've been in and out of the blogosphere for a while now, I have a lot of catching up to do. So much to share! Today I'll start with my aforementioned birthday—my golden birthday! I turned 30 on the 30th. 

G knew how busy and, I'll admit, stressed I had been with planning my best friend's bridal shower, and bachelorette party, and with helping her do any and everything to prepare for the wedding (dress fittings, DIY supply shopping, crafting, sign making, general MOH listening and encouraging, etc.) so he happily took on the task of planning my birthday party. While I knew something was happening on Sunday, March 29, the day before my birthday (and two days after my bestie's wedding), I didn't know what or where or who. The hubby decided to keep that a surprise. Even though I kept pestering for details! 

Funny enough, a friend had mentioned to me the idea of going to Malibu Family Wines to celebrate, which I thought was a fantastic idea since I had never been but always wanted to go. When I passed this information on to G, he told me not to worry, he already had a plan in mind and in motion. As it turns out, he was planning to take me to Malibu Wines all along! That guy. He knows me so well.

After arriving to the outdoor winery, I was greeted by a group of friends and family, waving and cheering under a gazebo reserved just for the party. We popped bottles of red, white, rosé and champagne and got to drinking. (And eating, and chatting, and playing Jenga and Cards Against Humanity.) It was a beautiful, sunny day and a wonderful afternoon hanging out with my best people. Friends from elementary and high school, friends from my days at the Acorn Newspapers, even my parents came out for the celebration. I felt so loved and appreciative that my husband put the whole thing together for me.

(A few more snaps of me and my silly, beautiful friends...)

The next day, my actual birthday, was low-key but just as nice. G and I went to breakfast with my family, I opened my gifts, and that night we went to Marielle and JP's house to hang with the newlyweds and cook dinner together. I made my go-to, crowd-pleasing appetizer, bruschetta, the hubs made his delicious sausage pasta coated in a decadent white wine sauce, Marielle made garlic bread and vanilla cupcakes, and JP poured the wine. It was perfect.

Part of me can't believe that I'm 30. I don't feel sad about it necessarily, but maybe in denial. Ha! Perhaps that's something to explore in another post. Truly though, I feel lucky to have amazing people who love me in my life and I have a feeling that my thirties are going to be even better than my twenties. Cheers to that, right? Yes, I have to remind myself sometimes but there is so much to look forward to, and many more adventures on the horizon.

Sniff, Swirl, Sip : Try Wine St. Pete

One of G and I's favorite pastimes in wine tasting. And while most wouldn't consider drinking a hobby, or at least not one to boast about, we do take our wine pretty seriously. That's not to mean we drink expensive bottles exclusively, we more often enjoy supermarket finds for 10 bucks or less. But no matter what we are sipping, we like to contemplate our wine. We don't merely drink it; we think about it. We sniff, we swirl, we sip, and then we share what we taste. If in the presence of company, this routine is usually laughed at, especially when I start saying something is "agricultural" or "has a hint of bell pepper." The hubs and I are not experts by any means, but we are winos through and through. We drink what we like, and I pick bottles based on their labels occasionally, but we are also open to trying new, unique and bold flavors.

When we lived in San Diego, we had the luxury of being just 45 minutes away from Temecula wine country, where we'd often visit on weekends and where we were members of two wineries. (Wiens Family Cellars and Danza del Sol, we miss you!) The state of California as a whole is full of wonderful, highly-rated wineries and while Temecula was in our proverbial backyard, we also made trips to wineries in Santa Barbara County and Napa Valley. (We even went wine tasting on our Canadian honeymoon!) But now that we are in Florida, the land of tropical fruit wine, we sometimes find ourselves longing to make an excursion to a California vineyard.

The next best thing? Try Wine Retail Tasting Lab, which has nearly 100 wines on tap for your sniffing, swirling and sipping pleasure. I had heard of this downtown St. Pete wine tasting lounge a few months ago, and we finally (finally!) made our way there this past Saturday evening (after exploring and tasting some of the wine and wine cocktails at new foodie haven, Locale Market). Since it was chilly outside, G and I stuck to reds, but we tried reds of all kinds—red blends, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Merlot, Grenache, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and even a few unfamiliar varietals. We walked around the entire lounge trying a little of this and that. Using a preloaded card, you can try by the taste or by the glass; you pick your pour. 

While I wasn't a fan of everything I tasted—my husband had a bit more success with his picks—it was a blast trying so many new wines together for a relatively low investment. (A screen displays exactly how much each taste costs.) At the end of our tasting, we went back to our favorite wine for a full glass. My favorite, by far, was Inkblot, a 2012 Cab Franc from Michael David Winery in Lodi, California. Admittedly, I was first attracted by the name and the label, and was pleasantly surprised that my good first impression held up in the taste test. Inkblot is bold in flavor but still smooth and fruity, which I prefer. While I was previously unfamiliar with Michael David Winery, I realized that I am familiar with one of its wines that I'm sure you have seen on store shelves, too: 7 Deadly Zins. Now I'll be on the look out for Inkblot, though finding a straight-up bottle of Cab Franc at the grocery store is near impossible. That's why we bought a bottle at Try Wine. The winos in us just couldn't resist.

Do you enjoy wine tasting? What's your favorite type of wine? I'd love to hear. Cheers!